Collectors Universe Diamond Grading Division GCAL Now Official Grading Service for
ESCADA Fine Jewelry in USA
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Collectors Universe, Inc.
(Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services
to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and diamonds, today announced
that its diamond grading division Gem Certification & Assurance Lab (GCAL) has entered
into an agreement which designates GCAL as the official grading lab for ESCADA Fine
Jewelry USA. The Pluczenik Group, a sightholder for the Diamond Trading Company,
is the licensee of ESCADA Fine Jewelry.
Under terms of the agreement, Collectors' GCAL division will provide grading and
authentication services as part of a double verification system of quality assurance
for ESCADA Fine Jewelry in the U.S. market. In addition to photomicrographs of the
diamond and direct assessment light performance of the diamond for brilliance and
symmetry, each GCAL grading certificate includes a Gemprint that will specifically
match the diamond to its GCAL certification. Gemprint is a non-invasive, patented
identification technology that captures and stores a digital image of the unique
refractive pattern of a diamond, in essence, the "fingerprint" of the diamond. The
GCAL certificate with Gemprint provides security for the retail customer, and also
establishes a method for tracing the diamond to its owner if the item of ESCADA
Fine Jewelry is lost or stolen. ESCADA Fine Jewelry is sold at some of the finest
luxury jewelry retailers.
"The GCAL grading certificate will provide confidence and security that ESCADA Fine
Jewelry sellers in the U.S. can offer with what is most often the first diamond
ring for many buyers," stated Don Palmieri, President of GCAL.
"We're pleased to have our GCAL division associated with ESCADA Fine Jewelry, one
of the most highly respected global brand names in luxury fashion," said Michael
Haynes, Chief Executive Officer of Collectors Universe. "With the double verification
and the added security provided by GCAL with Gemprint, ESCADA Fine Jewelry and its
U.S. retailers are taking a step to increase consumer confidence. This agreement
represents another validation of the strong value proposition created by our unique
GCAL services, the only diamond grading and authentication service able to provide
non-invasive, patented identification technology that provides unbiased verification
of a diamond's authenticity."
About Collectors Universe
Collectors Universe, Inc. is a leading provider of value added services to the high-value
collectibles and diamond markets. The Company authenticates and grades collectible
coins, sports cards, autographs, stamps currency and diamonds. The Company also
compiles and publishes authoritative information about United States and world coins,
collectible sports cards and sports memorabilia, collectible stamps and diamonds.
This information is accessible to collectors and dealers at the Company's web site,
www.collectors.com, and is also published in print.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements regarding our expectations about our future
financial performance which are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan,"
"estimate," "project," or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should,"
"could," or "may."
Due to a number of risks and uncertainties to which our business is subject, our
actual financial performance in the future may differ, possibly significantly, from
our expected financial performance as set forth in the forward looking statements
contained in this news release. Information regarding those risks and uncertainties,
and their possible impact on our future financial performance, including, but not
limited to the risks that our strategy to expand into new collectibles and other
high value asset markets, such as the diamond market, will not be successful in
enabling us to improve our profitability and that those businesses and the services
that they provide will not gain market acceptance, or will increase our operating
expenses and possibly cause us to incur losses. Additional information regarding
these and other risks and uncertainties to which our business is subject is contained
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended June 30, 2005 which
we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 13, 2005 and our
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2005, which
was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2006.
Due to the above-described risks and uncertainties and those described in our 2005
Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this
news release, which speak only as of its date, or to make predictions about future
performance based solely on historical financial performance. We also disclaim any
obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this news release or
in our Annual or Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
Joe Wallace
Chief Financial Officer
Collectors Universe
949-567-1245
Email: jwallace@collectors.com
Brandi Piacente/E.E. Wang
Investor Relations
The Piacente Group, Inc.
212-481-2050
Email: brandi@thepiacentegroup.com
Email: ee@thepiacentegroup.com
SOURCE: Collectors Universe, Inc.
04/05/2006
CONTACT: Joe Wallace, Chief Financial Officer of Collectors Universe,
Inc., +1-949-567-1245, jwallace@collectors.com; or Investor Relations, Brandi
Piacente, brandi@thepiacentegroup.com, or E.E. Wang, ee@thepiacentegroup.com,
both of The Piacente Group, Inc., +1-212-481-2050, both for Collectors
Universe, Inc.
Web site: http://www.collectors.com
(CLCT)